BUDGETS DON’T WORK Too often I talk to people who feel out of control financially. They’re not certain if they’re doing enough, if they have enough, if they are enough. They’re frustrated by their lack of knowledge, time and self-control and their unwillingness or inability to do something about it. They’re desperate for a seven-step standardised financial plan and often just want someone to tell them what to do. The truth is, for many of us, a homogeneous, one-size-fits-all financial approach just isn’t right. Instead, when it comes to our finances, most of us are missing the vital first step that all the financial knowledge in the world can’t replace: understanding who we are and why we behave the way we do. I know that by understanding your unique Financial Phenotype— the combination of your Money Type (how you intrinsically behave with money, or your money personality) and your Money Story (the influence of your 44
environmental factors and life experience)— and, by curating a bespoke suite of financial habits that are right for you, you’ll have taken a giant leap towards fulfilling your financial potential. I want to offer you hope in knowing that you’re not broken, the system is. And once you figure out who you are, you can create a financial environment that will mean you won’t simply be financially adulting—you’ll be financially well.
How many books have you bought on money, business and finance? One, four, ten, twenty? Or maybe you’ve lost count? Now, be honest. How many of those books did you read cover to cover? More importantly, how many of those books caused you to make radical, lasting money changes? That’s what I thought. The truth is many of us are enamoured by the idea of sorting ourselves out financially.
